On Tuesday, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights Volker Türk urged the Taliban to drop the numerous restrictions they've placed upon the women and girls of Afghanistan.
In addition to the many female-only limitations already enforced in Afghanistan, over the past week the Taliban has banned girls from secondary school, and women from attending university or working in Non-Governmental Organizations.
"No country can develop - indeed survive - socially and economically with half its population excluded," Türk said in a statement. "These unfathomable restrictions placed on women and girls will not only increase the suffering of all Afghans but, I fear, pose a risk beyond Afghanistan’s borders."
Türk urged the Taliban "to ensure the respect and protection of the rights of all women and girls," which he said must include the ability "to be seen, to be heard and to participate in and contribute to all aspects of the social, political and economic life of the country, in line with Afghanistan’s international obligations."
He suggested that the Taliban's latest decree will lead to "terrible consequences" not just for women but for all Afghan people.
"Banning women from working in NGOs," Türk explained, "will deprive them and their families of their incomes" and "significantly impair, if not destroy, the capacity of these NGOs to deliver the essential services on which so many vulnerable Afghans depend."
Türk went on to warn that if the Taliban continues their assault on the rights of women and girls, it will "impede the country's development," and potentially lead to an increase in gender-based violence.
Following Biden's botched withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban rapidly restricted the behavior, dress, and opportunities available to women and girls.
Females have been relegated to second-class citizens, forced to cover themselves from head to toe in burqas, and limited in what they can achieve in life.
Some organizations, however, have stepped in to provide education to women and girls and help them realize their full potential.
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